It seems that either Viacom came to their senses about making Google turn over user data on YouTube, or they didn’t like the bad press that their suit was generating. They have reached a deal to protect the privacy YouTube watchers everywhere and will allow Google to anonymize YouTube user data.

Previously Viacom succeeded in getting Judge Louis Stanton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to order Google to turn over as evidence a database what videos users watch, the users' computer addresses, and their usernames. Many groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation argued that the order "threatens to expose deeply private information" and violated the Video Privacy Protection Act. Whether the Act, created when VCRs were high tech, could be applied to YouTube was debatable. Viacom and Google’s deal avoids the legal snarl all together.

If you are into deciphering legalese (and we can assume you are into self flagellation too) you can read the details here.

The battle between Adobe's Flash format and Microsoft's competing Silverlight software to deliver rich internet applications (RIAs, not to be confused with the RIAA, an entirely different beast in every sense of the word) to your browser may come down to which technology search engines are better able to index. Adobe recently announced a new initiative with Google and Yahoo towards making the Flash file format (SWF) more easily visible to each site's respective spiders, leaving Microsoft noticeably missing from the group pow-wow.

But one company is taking notice of Microsoft. Find out who it is and what they want after the jump.

If Silicon Valley were to color code the tech industry's legal climate the way Homeland Security labels the threat level, then we'd all be seeing red. This week alone we've seen Steve Jobs sued for securities fraud, Google ordered to turn over YouTube viewing data, four Chinese companies fined for selling fake NEC keyboards, a convicted BitTorrent seed farmer stare at a 10 year prision sentence, a fired CEO taking his former employer to court for allegedly snooping his personal Yahoo account, and more. If that's not enough content to keep Law and Order: Silicon Valley up and running during the next writer's strike, then just wait another week or two and you might be able to fill an entire season's worth.

The latest legal drama involves high level espionage between HP and IBM, one of the few remaining scandals not yet covered in recent news. Specifically, HP's former VP is being indicted for allegedly leaking trade secrets from his former employer IBM to HP executives. According to court documents, Atul Malhotra, who was the director of IBM global printer sales between 1997 and 2006, requested and received a multi-page confidential memo from IBM, which authorites claim he emailed to an HP senior vice president two months later after being hired by HP. The subject line read "For Your Eyes Only."

Forget about buying fake Guccis and knockoff Louis Vuittons, and take a look at your keyboard instead. Are you sure it's genuine? It most likely is, as the effort and risk would surely outweigh the rewards in trying to sell a fake high-end keyboard, and lower end boards would hardly make the illegal venture worthwhile. Nevertheless, four Chinese companies apparently thought it made good business sense to make and sell counterfeit NEC keyboards, a move which has earned them a court ordered fine of CNY1.15 million. In U.S. dollars, that only equates to roughly $167,000, which only serves to highlight the bad business decision. It's believed the four counterfeiters profited at least CNY1 million in the venture, or about $36,000 USD after a four way split.

While NEC keyboards may seem like a quirky target, counterfeit computer goods can add up. In a joint operation earlier this year, officials from the US and European Union seized over 360,000 computer components worth a whopping $1.3 billion over a two week period. Some of the over forty different trademarked brands included Intel, Cisco, and Phillips.

Have you ever been bamboozled by fake goods, PC or otherwise? Post your experience(s) below.

In today's legal climate surrounding copyright infringement, one thing's becoming clear, and that's to take the plea bargain. Jammie Thomas, accused of illegally sharing 24 copyrighted songs, may wish she had if she can't get a retrial and remains liable for the original $220,000 verdict levied against her. Now it's 26-year-old Daniel Dove who's finding his legal wings clipped in court.

Dove, a former administrator of the now defunct EliteTorrents.com website, opted to plead 'not guilty' to felony copyright infringement and conspiracy charges, but failed to win favor from a federal jury and now faces up to 10 years in prision. Meanwhile, Scott McCausland and Grant Stanley, the two other administrators involved in the suit, each pleaded 'guilty' in 2006 and have already served their respective 5 month sentences.

The Department of Justice accused Daniel Dove of being in charge of a small group of 'Uploaders' tasked with recruiting members to seed illegal content to EliteTorrents' users. Much of the evidence used to convict Dove was supplied by the MPAA, and with another successful high profile conviction notched into the recording industry's belt, we can expect this trend to continue.

Score one for the little guy, or more specifically, score $108K for Tanya Anderson. That's how much a federal judge is awarding Anderson, who successfully defended herself against allegations of copyright infringement, prompting the RIAA to drop its suit against her. Though few would scoff at a six figure verdict, Anderson doesn't appear to be finished dipping into the RIAA's pockets.

To find out how much is Anderson seeking, and if the tables are finally turning, click through the jump.

With all the crowing over Rockstar's hidden sexual content unlocked through the now infamous Hot Coffee mod, you'd have thought it was Vivid Entertainment and not Take-Two Interactive who published Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. As it turns out, most gamers weren't so offended after all, and it appears the lawyers were the ones looking to cash in more than anyone else. Why? Keep reading to find out.

Steady vibrations can spell doom for the delicate moving parts inside a hard drive, and for this reason HDD manufacturers employ several technologies aimed at reducing these menacing motions. One such technology involves "Shaping Command Inputs to Minimize Unwanted Dynamics," for which engineering company Convolve holds the patent. The technology can be used to limit vibrations of a hard drive's actuator arm, and according to a recent court complaint, Convolve believes Dell, Western Digital, and Hitachi are all infringing on its patent. Going for the legal hat trick, Convolve is suing for monetary damages, attorney fees, and compensatory damages.

Standing accused of two separate federal cases involving drug distribution and securities fraud, ex-Broadcom Corp. head and current billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III entered pleas of ‘not guilty,’ while William J. Ruehle, Broadcom’s former CFO, also pleaded not guilty today in the securities case. Federal narcotics charges allege Nicholas III slipped ecstasy into drinks of business associates, and both men stand accused of securities fraud through stock-option backdating. If convicted on all charges, Nicholas could face a 340+ year prison sentence – yikes! Broadcom makes microchips for cell phones and broadband internet devices.